short ball starter? let's think on this a bit. the predominant firestick of the 18th century was the smoothbore musket or fowler. it's predominant use was for three key reasons - sustenance, defense, warfare. this made far better practical sense for the citizen farmer as a hunter/defender since one gun could do it all, particularly mid 18th century as medium game in the nor'east was literally decimated by the native americans so they could barter skins for trade guns and game for table fare was more fowl than deer. the rate of fire was best for the military, specifically for 17th and 18th defense and warfare, where quick shots trumped accuracy, and as such the speed of loading was mandatory. as a result of this need, tight loads and/or rifled bores (and their pervasive fouling) were avoided like the smallpox plague. so were rifles in the general military and on more than a few occasions militia joining the American army had to trade in rifles for muskets. so while there might have been military short ball starters in europe during the late 18th century through early 19th century, their use was not widespread and no proof in either prose or physical artifact has yet to be found here in the Americas. this is not to say short starters did not exist for the Colonials; i believe they had to have existed, but were absolutely for special purposes and not at all the norm.
